WATCH: If you drive in Greater Victoria you’ve likely been caught in road closures or delays due to ongoing construction in the city. Ceilidh Millar reports.
It seems everywhere you turn in the Capital City are traffic cones, pylons and bright orange signs.
“It gets pretty bad and if you hit all the red lights you don’t go anywhere,” said one driver in Victoria.
According to the city, there are five major road construction projects underway in Victoria.
The largest and longest project is the construction of north and southbound, full-time transit lanes on Douglas Street.
“We’ve had a fair amount of space taken up on the road while we do this construction,” said engineering and transportation assistant director Brad Dellebuur with the City of Victoria. “We recognize that it’s been an impact on commuters and general traffic moving around.
The project, which began in January, is expected to be completed in November and will save transit users an estimated five minutes of travel time.
Further transit projects are expected to begin once the McKenzie Interchange has been completed.
Also taking up space on the roads are development projects like the expansion of Mayfair Mall.
“The development activity certainly is putting a lot of strain on the streets,” Dellebuur explained. “We just have to manage that as best we can.”
However, there is some good news on the roads for drivers on the Malahat.
According to the Ministry of Transportation, four lanes on the highway between Aspen Road and Shawnigan Lake Road will be open as early as next week.
The nearly $34-million project is almost complete and paving work was finished overnight on Thursday, said the ministry.
Crews are also focusing on adding lighting to new access roads to improve overall visibility for drivers turning on and off the Malahat.
Depending on the weather, lanes may be open by the end of next week if not before Thanksgiving, the ministry says.
Ceilidh Millar
